As many of you already know, Saxby Chambliss won against Max Cleland by using the Rovian tactic of attacking his opponent's great character strength. In the case of Cleland, who lost three limbs while fighting in Vietnam, that would be Cleland's patriotism and courage. So, Chambliss cut this infamous commercial, which juxtaposed images of Saddam Hussein and Osama Bin Laden while insinuating Cleland lacks courage:
Well, now Chambliss and outside groups are claiming that Martin is soft on crime and failed to protect the safety of children. This ad is from the Chambliss campaign:
The Huffington Post says the following about the ad:
This time around, the Chambliss campaign has put out an ad saying that the Martin was fired from a government position "after children die[d]." The reference was to Martin's 2003 resignation from the post of commissioner of the Department of Human Resources after two toddlers passed away under state supervision -- hardly the implicit involvement that the charge suggests.
A second ad is being put out by the group Freedom's Watch, which states:
"You need to know, one public leader failed to look out for Georgia families: Jim Martin. First he actually helped block stiffer penalties for drunk drivers. And then, Martin voted against tougher sentences for domestic abuse."
The problem with this line of attack arises from the fact that Martin and his family themselves are the victim of violence against children: his daughter Becky was kidnapped in 1980 while walking home from school when she was eight years old . This incident drove Martin to become Commissioner of Georgia's Department of Human Resources, where he built a reputation as a leading advocate for children. In an effort to fight this smear campaign, Martin released the following ad:
"You never forget the horror of coming face to face with violent crime. We were blessed that she got away but I never forgot the way she trembled when she faced her kidnapper in court. That's why I fought so hard to crack down on violent crime and lockup violent criminals."
This a good start on Martin's part to pushback on Chambliss' efforts. I have a feeling that, if this issue is dealt with correctly and we Democrats and the Martin campaign expose how revolting this line of attack is, Martin can do to Chambliss what Kay Hagan did to Elizabeth Dole after she aired that "Godless" ad.
Help Jim Martin defeat scumbag Chambliss by donating money to his campaign.